Thanks. The guy I bought it from knew his grandfather got the gun before WW2 but couldn't figure out exactly from who or where. His grandfather worked at Rice Hope Plantation here in Moncks Corner. After getting the history from G&H we know that the Senator from NJ owned Rice Hope in the 30s. I gave him that info today and he seemed happy.

Got my letter today. Thanks so much Chuck for the super fast turnaround and the heads up to call Bob! Gun letters as 100% righteous. At 5lbs 2 oz I can see why people LOVED to carry these when searching for birds!

Anyone know which name caries a bigger weight up north? Astor of Frelinghuysen? I've actually been trying to find descendents of either with no luck yet. If there were a shotgun out there that my grandfather or grandmother had then I would want to know. But I guess when you talk about families of that magnitude they may already have a room full:)

Mike:

If I may put my 2 cents into the pile----------I agree, the gun should be "as is", do not do anything , other than keeping it in the same condition by oiling the metal with a light coat . I would have Kevin McCormack of Oakton,VA reline the inside felt, replace the straps, replace the carrying handle, and rejuvenate the outside leather of the case . It would change the entire presentation of the gun & case.

With all due respect, I would not have that case relined. There is no good reason to change this aspect of originality. A new handle and security straps are needed however. With patina to match the case.

I would also make it a practice to attach the forearm to the barrels rather than have it bash around loose atop the wrist and top lever of the gun.

And finally, "Astor" is the hands down preferred social surname in the NE. If one has a choice that is.

I'll be honest. I don't think anything is going to be done other that a little oil. I like the history of it so I'm gonna leave it as found:)

I had contacted Mr. Delgrego when I was thinking about a restoration and he said guys were paying 5k for a OO VHE 28 without wood if they could find it??? Is that the case? How many of these were produced?

Possibly... for one in high condition otherwise.

Let's see. You own a VHE 28 on a 00 frame that was originally purchased by the daughter-in-law of John Jacob Astor. Then owned by another luminary of New England's industrial history.

It's in darn good condition for its age. It's in what is most likely its original case, which is also in darn good condition for its age.

My bet is that if you take this gun and its provenance to an auction house like Cowan's you'll end up getting a lot more than 5K for it. Just my opinion...

Man you can tell that last post was typed on a "smart" phone.:) What I was trying to say was that I agree with the value on this gun. However, I'm not used to people buying stuff and paying that kind of money just to restore it. Don't see that a lot with Winchesters.